Fox could have interest in acquiring ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball package; the renowned Washington Post writer John Feinstein has died; CBS Sports writer Dennis Dodd is retiring; ABC is skipping an NBA playoff weekend.
Fox CEO Murdoch said to have interest in Sunday night MLB
Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch has “expressed interest” in acquiring the Sunday night Major League Baseball package that currently belongs to ESPN, Julia Alexander of Puck reported Thursday. There is no indication that Murdoch’s interest in Sunday Night Baseball had been previously reported or publicized. Fox has previously been linked to the Home Run Derby, which is also part of the expiring ESPN package.
ESPN opted out of its Major League Baseball contract last month, and while multiple reports indicate that the network is interested in renegotiating a new deal, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said the relationship is over and that MLB is shopping the rights — which also include the entire MLB Wild Card Series — to a broadcast and/or streaming partner.
Renowed author, Washington Post writer, Feinstein dies
The renowned author and longtime Washington Post columnist John Feinstein died Thursday at 69, his employer announced. A fixture for decades in college basketball and Washington D.C. sports media, Feinstein was a prolific author whose seminal work, the 1986 book “A Season on the Brink,” chronicled a season of Indiana basketball under coach Bob Knight. Published to wide acclaim — Knight himself being a noted exception — the book was eventually adapted into a 2002 ESPN TV movie.
Feinstein’s final column, a profile of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, was published the day he died.
CBS writer Dodd announces retirement
The CBS Sports college basketball reporter Dennis Dodd announced his retirement on Thursday, with his final day set for April 10. Dodd joined CBS in 1998 as a writer for what was then CBS SportsLine, a 27-year tenure that made up most of his 45-year career. He previously worked for the Kansas City Star and the sports-focused newspaper “The National,” and was president of the Football Writers Association of America in 2006.
ABC skipping an NBA playoff weekend for F1
ABC is not scheduled to carry any NBA playoff games on the weekend of May 3-4, which would coincide with Game 7s in the first round. Instead, the network’s usual Sunday afternoon doubleheader is slated for ESPN. The culprit is the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, which will again occupy the Sunday afternoon timeslot typically devoted to the NBA. In past years, ABC still carried some NBA games on the F1 weekend, including an early Sunday window last year and Saturday doubleheaders the previous two years.
The F1-NBA conflict figures to end one way or the other next season. ESPN is not expected to renew its F1 deal, and even if it does, the NBA will have a second broadcast network carrying Sunday games next season — NBC.
Outside of the COVID-delayed playoffs in the bubble, there is no record of any broadcast network skipping a full weekend of early round NBA playoff games.
